Commercial and operational update

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / August 2, 2022 / Love Hemp Group PLC (AQSE:LIFE) (OTCQB:WRHLF), the brand-led consumer goods company specializing in CBD health and wellness solutions, is pleased to present an unaudited update of sales and operations for the full fiscal year 22.

Highlights

• Sales of £3.6m are down 16% from a year earlier at £4.3m
• S2 sales of £1.9m are up 11% from S1 sales of £1.7m
• Fourth quarter sales of £0.97m up 15% from the prior year’s fourth quarter of £0.84m
• 233,987 units sold are up 19% from the previous year of 188,865
• 7,437 new customer accounts online, total accounts now around 70,000
• Significantly reduced H2 operating costs
• Successful inclusion of all products in the Novel Food Registry
• 2 new major quotations concluded

Following the outlook provided on March 31, 2022 for the half-year, the Company expects to report total revenue of £3.6 million for the year ended June 30, 2022, representing revenue slightly above management’s expectations. . This result was achieved in a difficult context of the pandemic, the impact on prices of the current geopolitical situation and significant delays in the publication of the UK register of Novel food products which also impacted the working capital of the company. ‘company. Additionally, lower than expected funding earlier this year also led to significant reductions in marketing programs, but despite this backdrop, the Company still experienced sales growth in the second half of the year.

Revenue over the period continues to be UK-centric with year-on-year growth across key retail stores and posted revenue of £2.15m in FY22 in up 19% from £1.78m in FY21.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales continue to be slow through the company’s own online channels, lovehemp.com and cbdoilsuk.com, but generated 7,437 new customers. DTC sales represent 26% of total revenue, compared to a 59% share of total revenue in FY21. A new digital commerce manager has been appointed to help grow DTC sales .

Love Hemp was successful in having all 34 products added to the Novel Foods Registry on March 31, 2022, and with this barrier to entry removed, the company is taking aggressive action to capitalize on this opportunity. Directors believe that the combination of new DTC initiatives and the inclusion of Love Hemp products in the Novel Foods Registry will open the door to many more retail opportunities, increasing sales and building brand equity.

Operational update

The Company announced on March 31, 2022 that it was beginning a major operational review of its cost base and operating procedures, due to first half business performance and the limited funding available to it. The review has a positive impact on the efficiency of the business, as the group’s operating costs have been significantly reduced in the second half of the year, while achieving growth during the same period. Additionally, board costs through the restructuring announced on July 8, 2022 have also been significantly reduced.

Mark Update

Love Hemp are proud to have positioned themselves as one of the UK’s leading CBD health and wellness brands. This has been validated by multiple independent consumer surveys and recognized industry awards. In November 2021, the company commissioned an independent survey from Market Measures Limited to better understand the impact of its national television and media campaign featuring its brand partner and former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua OBE. A survey of 1,000 adults positioned Love Hemp as the industry leader with 19% of respondents being aware of the brand along with the words premium, quality, trustworthy and natural being most strongly affiliated with the brand.

In December 2021, Love Hemp also received the “Leading CBD brand 2021” award in the Commercial Cannabis Awards organized by Global Health and Pharma. Love Hemp is also a nominated finalist for ‘Most Loved CBD Brand’ in the World CBD Awards due to take place in October 2022.

Tony Calamita, CEO commented; “I am delighted that we have continued to expand our footprint with greater distribution in major retail stores and that we have achieved record product unit sales so that more consumers than ever can benefit from our products. This was achieved while undertaking a significant operational review and I am confident that this growth will continue.

The company plans to make Love Hemp more visible internationally and overseas sales provide a significant opportunity in the future. We are a dynamic and passionate brand that, after a few challenges, is once again on a growth curve with the strongest and most influential brand partnerships in the industry. Now is the time for us to really capitalize on this opportunity.

Outlook

The company will continue to drive sales growth in FY23 with organic growth expected in both its retail and retail channels. The successful inclusion of 34 products in the Novel Foods Registry is expected to result in solid growth of the Company’s B2B channels and further increases in brand equity building. As a direct result, the company has already recently agreed on new major retail listings and Love Hemp plans to launch a range of its products in these respective new stores and online platforms during the fourth quarter of 2022. The company is also pleased to announce that it is in advanced discussions with a number of other major retailers interested in stocking Love Hemp products and will report on the progress of these new retail launches in due course.

This coming year, Love Hemp plans to invest more in product development and intends to launch many new products in ingestible and topical formats. This should give the company a bigger presence in marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. The products will be designed to meet the specific needs of a number of identified consumer segments, including sleep, pain, anxiety, stress and sports recovery, and will be another source of potential sales growth.

Re-registration

The Company remains in talks with a potential new Corporate Adviser from AQSE to enable the re-listing of its shares and will inform the market in due course.

For more information, please visit: www.lovehempgroup.com or contact:

About the Love Hemp band

Love Hemp Group is a brand-led consumer goods company focused on health and wellness solutions for consumer use cases including sleep, pain, anxiety, stress and recovery. The company is a pioneer in the UK market for high-quality CBD, with over 40 products including oils, edibles, sprays, cosmetics and topicals. The company’s product range is sold online on 70 websites and in over 2,000 stores, including some of the UK’s largest retailers, such as Holland & Barrett, Boots and Ocado. Listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE:LIFE), the company recently changed its name to Love Hemp Group plc, of World High Life, to better reflect its goal of supporting the “best in class” CBD brand as it embarks on a broader expansion. of its core business and its offer.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 on market abuse as it forms part of UK national law under the Withdrawal from the European Union Act 2018 (“MAR”), and are disclosed pursuant to the Company’s obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company’s current expectations, estimates and projections regarding its industry; his beliefs; and assumptions. Words such as “anticipates”, “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “seeks”, “estimates” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, are difficult to predict and could cause actual results differ materially from those expressed or anticipated in the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions securityholders and potential securityholders not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company’s views only as of the date of this announcement. Forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to events as of the date the statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect unforeseen events, circumstances or developments occurring after the date of this announcement, except as required by law or any applicable regulatory authority. ‘required.

This information is provided by RNS, the information service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a primary information provider in the UK. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit www.rns.com.

THE SOURCE: Love Hemp Group PLC

See the source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/710485/Love-Hemp-Group-PLC-Announces-StrategyCompanyOps-Update